Dairy Egg Wheat Nut free recipe

Merry Christmas (and Royal Icing Recipe)

~ libbityl ~ 7 Comments

I love gingerbread and when put in house form with royal icing, it’s even better. Since making one a year at church Christmas events a number of years ago, I’ve tried to make one each year for our family. This year I happened to be in Ikea and checked their ingredients on their gingerbread house kits – no egg and no dairy! So I grabbed it – not having to make a house myself this year was very enticing!

[Please note that the tags for this post are to do with the royal icing not the house.]

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Ingredients list (apologies for the depth of field blur!)

The next issue was the royal icing – I love its lemon tang but it’s traditionally made with egg whites so I needed a replacement. I could have used No Egg but I wasn’t sure how it would go so I had a search online and found that someone else had done the experimenting for me. She decided that the glycerine worked better in the hardening factor – rather essential for a gingerbread house (less so for just decorating cookies) and since I had some in the cupboard, that’s what we went for. I did also look up whether or not it was safe to be eating something I’ve always just used in making homemade bubble mix or on dry skin but I guess if you can use it on your lips, it’s ok to ingest too!

Here’s the recipe:

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Mine ended up slightly more runny than I wanted it but it still worked well, even for attaching decorations

The BBC’s egg free royal icing

500g / 1lb 2 oz icing sugar (You can use icing mixture too)
2 lemons
3 – 4 teaspoons glycerine

Sift the sugar into a the bowl of a mixer.
Juice and strain the lemons.
Beating continously, gradually add the juice and glyercine to the sugar

Sourced at:
http://hoppobumpo.blogspot.com.au/p/bbcs-egg-free-royal-icing.html
Originally sourced at:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/eggfreeroyalicing_77309.shtml (link now defunct)

I halved this recipe and had enough for my house and decorating with a little left over.

My main tips for construction are to build the walls and wait a while for them to set before putting the roof on. Ensure you’ve reinforced the inside corners with extra icing. Hold the roof pieces for a few minutes until you are sure they won’t slide.

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Construction complete. Next time I will put the chimney together and then attach it to the roof instead of trying to do both at once.

Our decorations are dairy, egg, and nut free (and quite a few are wheat free too) – skittles, musk sticks, mint leaves, jelly babies, licorice (black and strawberry), marshmallows and edible glitter.

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Decorating with edible glitter!
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The final product and my cheeky monkey sneaking into view 🙂

Wishing you a Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour. I’ll have a blogging break until late January.

Banana Bread

~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

Banana bread sounds good in theory right? It’s fruit – it must be healthy.

Nope, sorry. Most banana breads that you find in cafes are pretty well just glorified cake …. don’t get me wrong – they are super delicious, but just the healthy choice people think they’re making!

This recipe is a lot lower in sugar and has lot of extra goodies added to it. Still super delicious, but I am really happy to pop this one in lunch-boxes or enjoy at brunch or with an afternoon cuppa.

See below the recipe for a coeliac friendly option.

  • 2 cups flour (Plain flour is fine but I have used mixes of spelt, barley and rye and they all work well too)
  • 1/3 cup sugar (optional, but add it in if you’re a sweet tooth!)
  • 2 rounded tsp GF baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon/mixed spice
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice (oat, almond and rice work well)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 medium, very ripe, bananas, mashed
  • 75g vegan butter/tasteless coconut oil
  • 50g maple syrup or honey*
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 tbsp seeds (use whichever are your favourite – process these first if you’d like less obvious bits). A small handful of chopped walnuts also works well here.
  • 3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas) OR 1 whole egg
  • rolled oats to top (or more sliced banana)

Into a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients. I don’t do sifting (ever if at all possible!), so I use a whisk to gently mix this dry mixture until it’s even.

In a large measuring jug, mix the milk and the vinegar and whisk vigorously for a minute. It should become slightly thicker and have lots of frothy bubbles on top. Then set aside for a few (3-4) minutes. Or blitz in your blender/nutribullet for a few seconds.

To the milk mix, add the mashed banana, oil, syrup, aquafaba/egg and vanilla and whisk until well combined. (or another few seconds in the blender/nutribullet)

*If you’d like an alternative to the honey or syrup, you can blend in 6 medjool dates to the wet mix

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Add the wet ingredients to the dry, folding them in until just combined – don’t over mix.

Pour into a large greased loaf pan, sprinkle oats on top and bake at 180C for about an hour, or until a skewer, inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for another 10-15 minutes.

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I also make these into muffins when I don’t have as much baking time – makes 18-20.

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This is yummy as is, or with a bit of butter, or even toasted. It freezes and defrosts well, just slice and wrap individually before freezing.

Enjoy … as I currently am, with a cuppa 🙂

To make these coeliac friendly, use 1 2/3 cups of GF flour mix (I like Bobs Red Mill All purpose baking flour) plus 2 flat tsp of psyllium and make sure you use a gluten free milk then top with rolled quinoa or use the extra banana option.

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To make these in a thermal cooker:

Whisk the milk and vinegar and set aside (Speed 4, 10 seconds).

Place the bananas, oil, vanilla, aquafaba/egg and syrup in the bowl and process on speed 5 for 8 seconds.

Add in milk mixture and process on speed 4 for 8 seconds. Then set aside the wet mix.

Add all of the dry ingredients to the machine and process on speed 4 for 8 seconds.

Add the wet mix back into the dry and process on speed 4 for 6 seconds, the scrape down and repeat.

Bake as per regular method.

Gingerbread Cookies

~ libbityl ~ 6 Comments

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I love cooking gingerbread at Christmas time. I am looking forward to making a gingerbread house with my kids soon too! I’ve adapted an already adapted recipe based on Sheriden Rogers ‘Entertaining at Home’ (1994 p143 – I think!) that my friend gave me. After the results of my recipe, I can only imagine how yummy the ‘normal’ version is. The kids loved helping with the cookie cutters.

This gingerbread is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It’s hard to even tell it doesn’t have ‘normal’ ingredients in it. This is a big amount of dough so I usually divide it in half and get about 50 small cookies (I use the Tupperware cookie cutters as pictured).

250g dairy free spread
185g brown sugar
2 eggs worth of egg replacer
300g honey
750g plain g.f. flour
pinch salt
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 tsp bicarbonate of soda dissolved in
125ml boiling water

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius (325F)
Cream dairy free spread and sugar until light and fluffy (use a large bowl and a mixmaster/kitchenaid is best)
Beat in egg replacer
Add honey and mix
Sift together dry ingredients and then add to mixture in parts alternating with dissolved bicarb soda
If dough feels too soft, add a bit more flour
Refrigerate for 2 hours – overnight
Roll dough out and cut out with cookie cutters
Place on trays with baking paper lining
Cook until lightly browned (about 20min)
Remove from oven but leave on tray for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack.

Tips – I found the dough got easier to work with after it had been out of the fridge for a couple of minutes.
– If you are using normal flour you might need a bit more to make it into a dough. When I made it this week, I had to add quite a bit. I would add more of the spices next time too.

Overnight Oats – breakfast heaven!!

~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

It is getting hot in the desert, which means that porridge for breakfast isn’t so appealing any more.

I am keen to stick with oats as they are a great, filling and easy, low GI breakfast, but I just don’t love muesli without cows milk.

So it is overnight oats to the rescue – they’re soaked to soften them instead of cooking.

This will be breakfast (and possibly lunch!) all summer at my place – hope you delight in it as much as we do 🙂

  • 150ml almond milk (soy/oat/rice milks work too, if nuts are out)
  • 50g oats
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbps honey (agave/maple for a vegan version)
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds, and
  • diced fruit to top (I’ve been using blueberries, strawberries and mango)

Mix the oats and milk in a glass container, then add in honey, cinnamon and vanilla and stir well.

Leave overnight in the fridge.

Just before serving in the morning mix through the chia seeds and top with fruit.

Serves 2.

I have also made this for lunch (on more than one occasion!). Just mix up in the morning and allow at least 4 hours in the fridge.

Nigella’s Spanish Chicken

~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I am a bit of a fan of Nigella Lawson.

Lately I have been enjoying watching the re-runs of her Kitchen series on iview while I do Ellie’s dream-feed.

Usually I can only dream of eating most of the things she cooks, but then the other night I saw her make this meal and was so excited that I could make it with only a few changes that I re-watched the episode and wrote it down after Ellie was back in bed.

It was very well received in our house, despite initial objections from the two fusspots!

  • 8 skinless chicken thighs, left whole
  • 4 spicy chorizo sausages cut in to bite size pieces (check they meet your allergy requirements as they all have different ingredients)
  • 2 large potatoes cut in to bite size pieces
  • approx 1 tsp dried oregano, and
  • zest of 1 orange, finely grated.

Place all ingredients into baking pan. Make sure they are packed in quite tightly as you want it all to roast in the spicy oils from the chorizo.

Sprinkle with oregano and zest, then place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about an hour, or until chicken and potatoes are golden brown. Using tongs,  turn the meat and veg after about half an hour to make sure they are evenly covered.

I served with a salad of baby spinach leaves and diced roma tomatoes, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt flakes.

This serves about 6 adults.

Tasty Tacos

~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

I have never been a mince fan … and my family and friends harass me constantly for it. ‘ But it’s just so versatile’, ‘what if I just grind up a steak for you?’. There’s just something about the texture that makes me feel all squeamish.

Anyway, it turns out that I have a husband and children who adore Mexican food … hello minced meat.

Since our diet is already restricted, I figured that I needed to try and learn to eat mince so that there were some more options open to us – I find I can manage it when it is in a largely veggie based meal like this one, or in our bolognese.

Tacos are are MASSIVE WINNER in our house so we hope you enjoy them too!

**If you are after a vegan option for your tacos – check out below the main recipe for how we make the switch.

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My veggie loving little sous chef

  • 400g mince (beef, turkey or chicken)
  • 2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
  • 1 finely diced brown onion
  • 1 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
  • Taco Shells
  • 1 large jar Mexican salsa
  • 2 tbsp Mexican Seasoning
  • 1 fist sized piece of pumpkin
  • Toppings – spinach, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, corn, cheese etc etc

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion til soft. Add the mince and brown.

Then add the seasoning and salsa. Then add the lentils and mix well.

Finely grate the pumpkin.

Add the pumpkin to the meat mix and stir to combine.

Bring to a gentle simmer for about 20 mins until the meat is cooked and the veggies are soft..

Heat Taco shells according to pack directions and while they are heating, prepare all salad ingredients.

Serve with mince mix at the bottom, salad next and sprinkle of the cheese your diet allows. It’s a great ‘make-your-own’ meal for the kids too.

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**The Vegan option:

Omit the minced meat and add in 300g of finely diced firm mushrooms, use them at the same place in the recipe as the mince goes.

Then when you are adding in the lentils, add 1 more additional tin of drained and rinsed lentils.

Make sure you use a suitable plant based cheese – and that’s it! Super easy and very tasty!

This recipe makes enough meat mix for 2 family dinners for us – we freeze the other half in an air tight container – perfect for when you neeeeed tacos next time 😉

Extra Tip: If you need or want to go grain free – then using large lettuce leaves as your taco cup works really well, and you still get a lovely crunch (and messy hands!). This is also a good option if you are soy free as I’ve yet to find pre made shells without soy.

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Enjoy 🙂

Salmon and roast vegetable quinoa

~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

My friend Amy introduced me to quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wah’) a couple of years ago as I was desperately searching for some allergy friendly variety for our diets … and I am SO glad she did!!

It is an amazing seed – a real super-food; high in amino acids and full of protein, iron and calcium and a great source of low GI gluten-free fibre. For all of these reasons it has become a regular feature on our menu. Quinoa has a lovely nutty taste – almost like a mix between the chewiness of barley and the fluffiness of cous cous. It can have a bitter taste, but that is easily fixed by soaking and rinsing before you cook it.

This is one of my favourite quinoa recipes;

Salmon and roast vegetable quinoa.

  • 1.5 cups quinoa (I use the white variety, but it also comes in black and red)
  • spray oil
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tsp Massel chicken stock
  • dill (to taste)
  • 1 large tin of salmon, bones and skin removed, flaked
  • 1 large zucchini
  • 1.5 punnets cherry or grape tomatoes
  • pumpkin

Place the quinoa in a large saucepan and cover with about 2L of water. Allow to soak for at least an hour (mine often sits for a few hours before I get back to it!), then drain and rinse well.

While the quinoa is soaking, cut up the vegetables (leave the tomatoes whole) and place in a large baking dish. Spray with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a pre-heated 180 C oven for about an hour, or until they are just cooked (you don’t want them to get too squishy).

Return the drained quinoa to the saucepan and cover in 4 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 mins. Drain the excess stock.

Add the salmon, dill and olive oil to the saucepan and gently mix through on a low heat.

Serve the quinoa into bowls and top with the roast veggies.

Serves 4-5

Lemon Thyme Mushroom Linguine

~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

A few months ago my sister-in-law came to stay, which was lovely, but she is a vegan …. so my challenge for the week she was here was to cook vegan food that was also soy and gluten-free, that satisfied my rather carnivorous husband and that actually tasted good.  A scary challenge! But we did ok and we have continued to make some of the meals we shared with her – this is now Will’s favourite dinner.

It is an adaptation of a recipe that I saw on ‘Nigella Kitchen’.

  • 50ml garlic infused olive oil
  • 500g sliced mushrooms (I use a mix of Button and Swiss Brown)
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves finely chopped
  • zest and juice of 1 large lemon
  • steamed green beans
  • GF linguine

Place the mushrooms in a large mixing bowl, add in the oil, herbs and lemon. Mix well so that the mushrooms are all coated.

Cover mushrooms and allow to infuse for a couple of hours (or at least 30mins if you are short of time).

Heat a large frying pan and tip in the mushrooms, cooking until soft.

Add steamed beans to the frying pan and stir through (don’t leave them too long because there’s a better contrast if the beans are still a bit crunchy).

Cook the linguine, drain and serve. Add mushroom mix to the top. Make sure you don’t waste any of the yummy pan juices – pour them over the top!

Serve and eat immediately.

Serves 4.

Roast Lamb

~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

I love a good roast … trouble is, that as well as being a bit of an organise freak, I am also somewhat of a clean freak … which means that I don’t like letting my oven get dirty! So when I discovered how simple it was to cook a huge leg of lamb outside in the bbq I was very excited!

I use quite a large leg (about 2.5kg), then when it is cooked I carve it all up and freeze it in a couple of separate batches. It thaws well and it is great to be able to have a roast ready at such short notice!

  • Leg of lamb
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ground salt
  • ground black pepper
  • fresh rosemary (before I had it growing in my garden, I used the dried variety and it works just fine)

Pre-heat the covered bbq to approx 180 degrees C.

Place the lamb in large baking dish, mix together the oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and rub into the lamb.

Place the baking dish on the bbq plate and turn off the burners that are directly underneath it. (I place the dish on the bbq plate on the left and only use the burners under the grill on the right going), then close the cover.

Leave to cook for about 30mins per 500g for a medium cooked roast. Do 5 mins less for 500g for a rare roast or 5 mins more for well done. Try to avoid lifting the cover of the bbq as you lose a lot of the heat each time.

The roast is cooked to medium when you stick a knife in and the juice runs out clear.

After cooking, cover in foil and leave to sit for 20-30mins before carving.

Serve with roast veggies and gravy.

Now all I need to do is learn how to carve properly 😉

Nut -free Satay Chicken

~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

My husband calls my satay sauce ‘frautay sauce’ (fraudulent satay‘).

To be honest, I don’t really mind what he chooses to call it because it is really yummy and everyone loves it … we have even had dinner guests eat it and then look at my kids in horror and say ‘Oh no – but they can’t eat peanuts!’, not realising that it was this substitute.

See below the recipe for a Thermal Cooker method.

  • 1tsp olive oil
  • 1 sml brown onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small fresh red chilli, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you don’t want too much heat)
  • 3 tbsp Sunflower seed butter
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and
  • 1/2 tsp coconut sugar

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until onion is soft and golden.

Add garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and seed butter and stir to combine.

Return to low heat and add water, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar.

Cook, stirring for about 3 minutes until sauce thickens.

To make the satay chicken, I just wait until the sauce cools, then put about 1/3 of it aside. Use the remaining 2/3 to marinate strips of chicken thigh and leave covered in the fridge for 2 hours.

Thread chicken strips on to bamboo skewers (soak them in water before hand so that they don’t burn when cooking) and cook on the bbq.

I serve with steamed veggies on a bed of rice and top with remaining sauce.

The sauce makes about 3/4 of a cup and I use about 400g of chicken thighs, which is enough to feed all 5 of us, with one or two left over for lunch the next day.

To adapt for a Thermal Cooker:

Place onions, garlic and chilli in bowl and use speed 6 for 8 seconds.

Scrape down sides and add oil. Saute on 100C, speed 1 for about 4 minutes, or until onions are soft and golden.

Add in the sunflower seed butter and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.

Add water, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar. Cook on speed 1, 90C for about 6 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.